Redefinition of an Irken
by mariposa-asesino
Summary: It was, in fact, not an ordinary day. Today was their fifth anniversary, for lack of a better term. Five years since they met and their first fight. That was a long time ago, though and now Dib wanted to commemorate the occasion. While the two may have survived that sincere, somewhat awkward moment, they're unsure of what will happen now that Zim's identity has been torn away.
1. November 7th

_Redefinition of an Irken_

November 7th

He knew this was a bad idea.

It was too sentimental, too… _human_. The stupid alien would laugh at him and he'd be embarrassed and run off and everything would be ruined. He might not even like the gift- doing this could destroy their entire relationship!

On the other hand… it might not. He might like it. Maybe even let him see some of his art again…

"Hey, Zim," Dib called before he could think better of it, turning around and walking toward him.

"Human," he replied with a smirk, not bothering to turn around.

"Don't act like you know I'm going to chase after you, my ego can't take much more of this," Dib said as he caught up to him. He knelt down, tossing off his backpack and digging through it. "I, uh, hang on a sec."

Zim, intrigued, turned and watched as the human searched through his things.

A moment later, Dib seemed to pull out what he needed and closed the pack, throwing it over one shoulder. "I- um…" he hesitated fiddling with the edges of… some sort of book, it looked like. "So, I don't know if you know, but… we met five years ago today. I marked it on my calendar because I wanted to make sure I had an accurate date for the first time I'd ever seen an alien in real life… But, well, obviously since then we've grown out of the trying to kill each other thing," Dib laughed a bit, looking increasingly nervous as he rambled. "I just wanted to… well, get something for you because I'm really glad we met," he said rapidly, shoving a large sketchbook towards Zim.

The alien stared at the human and his offering. "You…? Y- You- Dib-thing-" Zim stammered, clearly flustered before he rolled his eyes, placing a hand on his hip. "Stupid sentimental human. Zim needs no gifts from you. However…" his face flushed slightly, reaching out to take the book. He flipped through it, feeling the paper, his eyes widening slightly. Dib had clearly been very careful with his purchase. Most paper felt horrible to the alien's sensitive hands, yet this one felt… almost nice. It was thin enough that it didn't feel bulky, but thick enough that it wouldn't bleed if he used a pen. And it didn't smell of all those nasty chemicals humans felt the need to put in everything. "However, Zim appreciates your kind gesture. Stupid sentimental human, yes, but a thoughtful one," he smirked, finally looking back up at Dib. "The Zim is also pleased to have met you."

The brightest, most excited smile that he had ever seen the human wear grew on his face. "Good! I'm really glad you like it! I wasn't sure about the texture- I mean, it's better than most but- ya know what, I'm going to just go before I ruin everything, I mean, yeah, I'll see you tomorrow!" Dib yelled over his shoulder as he ran home, trying to tell himself that the flush on his cheeks was from running.

Zim couldn't help but laugh at the human's awkwardness a little, but he too turned to walk home. He had plans for this sketchbook that he wanted to get started.

Dib ran the entire way to his house, not slowing down for a moment. His heart raced and adrenaline raced through his veins. Zim liked the notebook, he was positive. Well, he'd _said_ he did, so… And the stupid alien was generally pretty straight forward about things. Maybe he'd even draw something tonight, since it didn't seem to hurt his hands…  
He barged into his house, practically throwing the door open and shut. Bounding up the stairs three at a time, he didn't even bother to glance behind him. The interaction couldn't have lasted more than five minutes, but… Dib finally reached his room and threw himself on his bed, crushing a pillow to his body as he waited for the adrenaline coursing through him to settle. He could practically hear Gaz's confusion from downstairs in the silenced video game music, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that just yet. He'd tell Gaz what had happened when his face stopped burning…

Zim on the other hand, with his still slightly flushed cheeks, closed his new sketchbook and opened the door to his house much more softly. His mind wandered as he stepped into the elevator to take him to his lab, playing with the edges of the book. The texture of it really _wasn't_ unpleasant.

By the time he got to his lab he'd gotten a pencil out of his Pak and looked about ready to pounce on the paper, excitement growing in him as ideas crowded his thoughts. He walked slowly to his desk as he started drawing basic shapes in the general outline of what he wanted. When he finally got to his desk he was hunched over the paper, drawing rapidly before the exact image left his head…

Almost an hour later he finally sat back in his seat, smiling proudly at his new picture. Tomorrow he'd be able to show it to the stupid hu-

The giant computer in front of him flickered on and an image of the Tallests appeared on the screen in front of him. "Invader Zim, what exactly is going on here?"

The Irken in question all but leapt out of his chair. His antennae stood straight up and his eyes widened. He looked almost panicked, saluting a bit sloppily. "My Tallests! Z- Zim doesn't know what you mean? H- Has he done something to displease you?"

Red rolled his eyes, "'Displease' us? Don't you think that's a bit of an understatement? It's been _five years_ since you got to this filthy planet and you still have yet to conquer it! This… ' _Dib_ ' creature would never be able to stop a _competent_ Irken soldier! You're a blemish on the title of Invader!"

"T- Tallest Red, it's not that simple!" Zim protested, his antennae drooping, "Zim has a plan-"

"Oh, of _course_ you have a plan. You _always_ have a plan," Purple sighed. "You're a liability. You'll get caught one day and then you'll put the rest of Irk in danger. We can't allow you to continue to be a part of this operation. Your status as Invader has to be terminated."

Zim blinked.

That… that didn't make sense. That couldn't _be._ He was _Invader Zim_! Who would he be without a rank? His status couldn't be revoked…

"We won't bother retrieving any of our supplies, or SIR unit- it's basically broken anyway," Red mused, waving his hand as though the issue were merely another inconvenience.

"M- My Tallests…" Zim started weakly, "Please, reconsider-"

"We are no longer _your_ Tallests. Do not attempt to contact us and in the event that you are found, if you reveal any information about Irk, us, or your duties, you will be deemed a traitor and hunted down. You are no longer an Invader, nor are you a citizen of Irk. You'll be lucky to have the title of _person_ from now on. You will never hear from us again." With that, the transmission was cut off as Zim simply stared back at the dark abyss of the monitor.


	2. November 8th

_Author's note:_ Hey guys! So first of all I want to say thank you _SO_ much to everyone that's already followed this story! This is the first thing I've ever published and I'm really glad that you guys like it. And everyone that's reviewed or read it, thank you! I will be responding to your reviews as soon as they show up on the thing... I'm kinda new to fanfic so excuse my incompetency. ^^" I'll be posting another couple of chapters in literally a couple of minutes- I have like five written already... I am in college, though, so, like... I'm _trying_ to write consistently, I promise. Just if there are some wide gaps between chapter times it's cuz school is kicking my ass.

November 8th

Dib's leg bounced as he sat at his desk, clicking his pen. He glanced over at the seat beside him yet again. Zim still wasn't there. What could possibly be taking him so long? They both got to school every day _exactly_ fifteen minutes before school started to either talk about anything interesting that happened the night before or mock each other relentlessly. That was how it _was._ Upon occasion they might even study together for a bit, which generally meant that one of them would copy homework off of the other… And Dib knew for fact that Zim didn't do his homework, if he had started drawing in the sketchbook. The stupid alien should be smiling sheepishly at him right now, asking for the homework. But instead there was just an eerie silence.

Glancing at the clock, he ceased clicking his pen, trying rather desperately to stay still like a normal person. Zim wasn't in danger or anything- he wasn't really worried about that… really, there was very little reason to be worried at all. Dib shook his head, forcing himself to stay still just as the bell rang. He was being ridiculous. He needed to focus…

The teacher, a rather stout elderly man with a bright smile, clapped his hands together and started the lesson enthusiastically. Dib didn't neglect his note taking, but he was clearly distracted, continuously glancing over at the door and occasionally drawing his fellow students' attention (and irritation) with his incessant pen clicking.

Zim didn't show up to school all first period. When Dib headed down the halls to their next class he kept an eye out for the alien, but didn't see him anywhere. He half expected to see him sitting at his desk when he walked into the room, smirking at the foolish human for worrying unnecessarily. Instead, the desk remained empty.

The entire day passed similarly to this as Dib tried to focus on his classes, ignoring the constant feeling of unease only somewhat successfully.

By the time lunch rolled around, Dib wandered out to the front of the school, watching cars speed out of the driveway, trying frantically to get lunch and come back in time for their next class. He glanced down the road, wondering whether or not to go check on Zim. He'd make it back in time for class, if he ran- he knew that much from experience. But if the Irken had just overslept and decided not to come he'd look like an idiot. And there was no way he was hurt or anything… What could have possibly happened to him? Again, Dib shook his head and went back inside, heading for the library where he could drown his thoughts in his book.

Depressingly little happened in the day with Zim gone. But Dib was at least able to take some good notes… The walk home after school was quiet, disturbingly so. Zim normally walked him part of the way there. As nervous as Dib had been throughout the day, he was looking over his shoulder the whole way there.

When he finally got home, he entered the house quietly, greeting Gaz rather softly before heading up to his room. He sat on his bed, taking off his boots and staring blankly at his dark computer screen.

School just felt so bland without Zim there. He couldn't have a meaningful discussion with anyone else- not they were all so _wrong_ all the time. And anyone who sounded reasonable just made Dib too nervous to talk to them. The two of them could have heated debates—even get so passionate as to yell at each other, without it causing a problem in their relationship. They were just… completely different and exactly the same.

After a minute or two, Dib heard the sound of footsteps approaching him and went to open the door for his sister, glad to be able to talk to _someone_ today. He smiled when she entered the room and she went to his computer chair, an eyebrow raised at him. "Zim wasn't at school today?" she asked, but she knew already. Her brother had come home with that look on his face only once or twice before.

Dib nodded, grabbing a notebook from his backpack to work on the math problems they'd been assigned. "He'll be there tomorrow," he said, half reassuring himself.

Gaz hesitated, looking like she might want to say more. Finally, she just stood up and headed out, "Dad's home tomorrow. I'm ordering pizza tonight, you want any?"

"Yeah, thanks."

She left without another word, closing the door behind her.


	3. November 9th

November 9th

The moment the clock struck five, Dib leapt out of bed.

He didn't normally bother waking up this early, but he wanted to get to school at as unreasonable a time as possible. The library was open almost an hour before school really started for the express purpose of providing time for students to get work done and Dib indeed had work to do. He went through his morning routine rather rapidly- getting ready, eating breakfast (doing a bit of research as he did so) and then beginning his walk to school at about the same time that his sister came down from her room. The eye roll she gave him only made him smile proudly as he shut the door.

The walk to school was about the only relaxing thing Dib got to do all day. Not that he minded- he much preferred the total anarchy that was being around Zim to the anxiety-ridden mess of his own thoughts. But it was supposed to be nice to get some time alone with your thoughts or something. So, most days Dib either walked to or from school. He'd always preferred the walk in the morning though.

Even when it was dark and cold by the time he got outside, there was something… surreal about being awake before the rest of the world… about watching the world come to life.

Once or twice, mostly during finals week when Dib was incapable of being alone with his thoughts without having a bit of a meltdown, he and Zim would walk together. Those days Dib had to get up closer to three or four in the morning to make sure to get to their meeting place on time. But Zim went much further out of his way than he needed to so that they could walk together.

That was the strange thing about Zim- well, one of many, anyway. Some days they'd have _that_ argument. One that always resulted in, not _necessarily_ wounded feelings, but definitely raised voices and an apology or two at the end. Then, on days like these when another person was really the only cure for a racing mind, Zim was there. They never talked on that trip, either. They were simply… _being_ together. The thought on its own would make the human unbearably anxious were that silence in the company of anyone else.

The sound of chirping birds startled Dib out of his thoughts, but he smiled a little. His eyes wandered upward. By now the sun would be thinking about rising and in a few minutes he'd get to watch the sunrise.

Dib got to the school not long after the sun had decided to really start waking up. The doors to the library were already unlocked when he got there (despite his being there fifteen minutes early). The librarian was at their desk with a small paperback book and when Dib walked in, they smiled warmly at him, but made no attempt to converse with him. There were only ever two reasons that Dib got to school this early and both of them greatly impeded his already measly conversational abilities. Dib dropped his backpack on a nearby table and started pulling out books. This ended up being a rather drawn out process due to the size and quantity of said books. After a bit of struggle, however, he'd managed it and dropped each book gently into the "Return" box. Then came the most exciting thing Dib could possibly do in a library at six in the morning- a quest for new books.

Some days, this was (in Dib's mind at least) truly the most exciting thing he got to do. He always limited himself to three thousand pages at a maximum each time he picked up a load, but at least one thousand of those had to be sci-fi or he'd definitely die. He had set a personal goal for himself to read the library's entire collection of science fiction before he graduated. The librarian seemed to pick up on this though and started to buy more just as he reached the end.

Dib reached into his backpack, pulling out a list of authors, presumably what he'd been researching this morning, and starting the search for each book. He found two within a few minutes, grabbing each of them off the shelf in quick succession. Going back to the table, he checked the pages, added it together and wrote it down. He still had a couple thousand pages left, but he crumpled up his list and threw it out, going to one end of the library, and apparently just pulling random books out of the shelves to read the synopsis on the back. _This_ process took well over half an hour, so by the time he had all the books he needed, people were piling into the library.

The now very excited human approached the desk and the librarian checked out all eight of his books for him, a rather amused smile on their face. When they'd finished, Dib hurriedly placed each of the books strategically into his backpack- making sure not to damage even a single page- and dashed to class, now late to meet Zim in first period.

Running through the halls with a backpack chock full of books Dib couldn't help but laugh a little as he thought of Zim's reaction to the book he'd found. It was a novel about aliens and it looked horrendous. He just _had_ take it because of the description of the villain in the story, whose appearance was eerily similar to that of an Irke-

At that moment Dib turned into the classroom, five minutes late to meet with the alien in question. Despite this, his impatient face was nowhere to be seen. Disappointment had yet to even register in Dib's mind. All he could feel was utter confusion. Zim would miss school two days in a row? How? He'd hardly ever missed a single day, let alone two in immediate succession. Dib bit his lip, slowly approaching his desk as though the fact that Zim wasn't there had made his own reality somewhat less stable.

"I'm sure he's alright."

Dib jumped, staring wide eyed at the teacher sitting behind his desk.

The elderly man smiled. "Zim. I'm sure he's fine. You needn't worry."

A slightly longer moment than was entirely socially acceptable passed before Dib approached his desk and put his things down. "I'm s- sure you're right, sir. Thank you." With that he pulled out his book and pretended to read.

There were a few reasons it was kind of vitally important for Dib to be around Zim.

One, Dib desperately needed someone to talk to. He knew Gaz cared about him, but there's only so long one person can stand listening to complex, in-depth theories, about things they don't care about and Gaz's limit was shorter than most. This, however, did not seem to apply to Zim.

Two, living in a small town in which everyone knows everyone else and has the _exact same opinion_ as everyone else is pretty detrimental for someone with a differing opinion. _Especially_ when Dib is always right and everyone else is stupid. Except for the people who aren't. But their ability to be real life people tended to scare Dib off. Zim was from space, so he was about the _least_ 'small town type' on the planet.

Three, when Dib was left alone with his thoughts, bad things tended to happen. Now, these 'bad things' aren't necessarily what other people might see as bad, but to Dib- without Zim to sit him down and talk reason into him, there is no critic more scathingly merciless. When Dib's mind is allowed to run amok, it doesn't spare a second. It never made sense to him, because he spent most of his life by himself- he and Gaz didn't really play together as kids. They both preferred to be alone. Yet, without someone else around to reason with him…

Dib sighed, his hands in his pockets as he walked ever so slowly down the street. He was still caught between going to check on Zim and being sure that he was just overreacting. The stupid alien could be hurt, or sick… but can an Irken even be infected by human germs? Are humans and Irkens even compatible enough for that to work? He just didn't know enough about Irken anatomy or biology to be sure that Zim couldn't get sick, but at the same time he could very easily just be freaking himself out.

In the end, Dib shook his head, biting his lip hard and hurried down the street. He just wanted to get home and sleep, maybe even read one of his books.

He got home a little later than usual, causing Gaz to send him a slightly concerned head tilt, to which he responded with a shake of his head (nonverbal communication such as this was quite common between the two of them). Walking upstairs with roughly the energy level of an unexcited zombie, Dib eventually made it to his room, collapsing on his bed. He didn't want to move. He wanted to simply lay here for all of eternity. Screw homework. Screw school and people and jobs. What was the point in even-

"Dib, get down here, I want to talk about these grades of yours!"

Suddenly, Dib was bolt upright and his face paled slightly. He cursed under his breath, having completely forgotten that his dad would be home today.

"Dib Membrane, get down here! You had better have a reason for a _C+_ in _chemistry_ of all things!" his father yelled, the levels of aggression in his voice rising rapidly.

Without any other alternatives, Dib forced himself to get up, all but dragging himself to the door. In what could only be described as a death march, he headed down the hall, a hand shoved into the pocket of his trench coat. "I'm coming dad!"


	4. November 10th

November 10th

Dib all but ran through the halls, looking everywhere for the stupid alien. He _had_ to be here today. What could possibly keep him away for three whole days? The door to their class got closer and Dib started to get nervous. Zim could still not be here. What if he had done something wrong? What if giving him that present was actually a horrible idea and Zim hated him now? The human's breathing grew increasingly shallow and rapid. He reached a hand out to open the door, shaking ever so slightly. Breathing deeply to keep himself calm, he tried to relax a little. Suddenly he snatched at the handle and opened it before he could convince himself otherwise.

A quick glance around the room told him all he needed to know. Zim was still gone.

Dib wilted, his shoulders slumping and his hold on his school things slipping. Dragging himself to his desk, he didn't even bother to acknowledge the sympathetic smile his teacher aimed at him.

The urge to run straight to Zim's house had to be suppressed all day. So much so, that he couldn't keep his feet from tapping, even in the middle of a test when everyone kept whispering and throwing irritated looks in his direction. The human was simultaneously completely apathetic and utterly out of control.

At lunch, Dib walked out to a small enclosed area, pacing and biting his lip. His eyes kept wandering down the road to Zim's house. These things didn't happen. The alien couldn't have just left, could he? Maybe he had finally gotten tired of the stupid human and his incessant habits, or even his inability to communicate like a real person. Dib's mind raced just imagining all of the things he'd done in the past five months that might have convinced the alien— the one person who seemed to deem him worth talking to- to finally be finished with him.

Dib went through his classes watching the clock move as though someone had stopped time. After an eternity, the jarringly loud bell rang and he flew out of the room, forgetting his textbook on the desk.

Zim's house certainly wasn't far, but there was no denying that running all the way there would kill Dib's lungs. Even with all the running he normally did, sprinting the better part of a mile… his muscles burned just thinking about it. But that didn't stop him. He tried to keep his breathing even, the way Zim showed him to such a long time ago, but… He closed his eyes, clenching his fists and just running faster.

His feet pounded against the ground, as he panted, starting to feel dizzy. But the Irken's house was in view—he couldn't stop now. Dib raced passed the gate, slamming into the door. "Zim!" he shouted, bursting through the door and looking around the living room. He wasn't there. "Zim?!"

The house was empty. Gir wasn't even wandering around. "Maybe he's in the lab…?" he wondered aloud, disturbed by the silence engulfing the room. He walked to the elevator, looking around as he pressed the button to descend.

The elevator ride felt like hours as opposed to the minutes he knew it was. Worry consumed him. The house was never this quiet. What could possibly have silenced even _Gir_? The elevator finally stopped, the door opened… and Dib froze.

Zim was lying on the floor, his breathing shallow and labored. "Zim," he breathed, eyes wide. He hurried toward him, kneeling down. "Z- Zim, are you okay?!" Dib shook his shoulder.

A familiar tiny robot approached sadly, his whole body seeming to droop slightly. "Masta won't wake up," he mumbled. "Masta's sad."

"Gir, what happened?" Dib asked, his words rushed.

"Masta's sad."

Dib groaned, "Why's he like this?" he demanded, "Please, what can I do?!"

Gir looked up at him, his bright blue eyes wide and scared. "Masta's been down here since Mary gave him da book."

Cursing under his breath, Dib took Zim's arm, putting it around his neck and picking up the surprisingly light alien. "I'm bringing him to the upstairs. I want you to come with me and get me something that he can eat from one of the cabinets. I know that he hasn't been eating a lot recently even before now- his PAK's probably low on energy…" he said suddenly sounding calm, only the speed with which he spoke betrayed his fear. "Can you do that for me?"

The robot just nodded, staring at his master in concern.  
They took the elevator back up and as soon as the doors opened, Dib walked to the couch, being as gentle as possible so as not to startle Zim awake. He knelt down to lay Zim on the couch, holding his hand tightly. "Zim…" he whispered, squeezing his hand. "Come on, wake up…"

Gir came in, holding what looked like… alien trail mix, or something.

"...Thanks, Gir."

A tiny smile grew on the little robot's face and he sat on the ground, disturbingly quiet.

Zim started to stir.

"H- hey, are you okay?"

The alien groaned, turning into the couch and curling up as though to go back to sleep.

"H- Hang on, what's going on? What happened? Gir said you were sad—what does he mean?"

Nothing happened. Zim didn't respond or even move.

"Can… can you at least eat something?" Dib pleaded, "I know you hadn't been eating a whole lot before now… and if it's been three days…"

For a moment there was again no response. Then, just when he was about to give up, Zim turned over, not meeting the human's eyes. The Irken looked half dead—his eyes glazed over and half open. His antennae drooped and the normally bright vibrant red in his eyes almost looked… more grey somehow. A somewhat forced smile tugged at Dib's lips and he handed the bag to him. "If you don't want this I can go get you something else," he offered. But before the words were even completely out of his mouth the alien was eating. Rather rapidly too.

"…What's going on?" he asked softly, more to himself than anything. "I just want to help." Zim didn't respond, still not looking at him. The human just sighed, "Okay. You can go back to sleep after you finish that, if you want?"

A slight nod was the only reply he got.

Dib stood, only able to note that Gir wasn't there anymore before he fell back down. Zim had grabbed at him, finally looking up at him. Terror was the only possible way to describe his expression and it was disconcerting at best to see such a vulnerable emotion on the alien's normally confident features. His sharp fingers grabbed desperately at the sleeve of Dib's coat, causing him to wince a little. "Wha-" he paused. For a moment, something clicked, though he couldn't describe what. "I'm not leaving." he explained, gently loosening the Irken's grasp on his coat. He readjusted it, taking the empty bag from Zim and putting it in his pocket. The human went to a closet, opening it and grabbing one of the many extra blankets. "See?" he showed him, spreading the blanket over the Irken who cuddled into it—likely the most enthusiastic thing he'd done all day. Though that wasn't saying much.

A tiny whimper-y sound escaped from him and tears welled in his eyes. Dib, feeling like an idiot, really couldn't think of what to do. _Zim_ , the alien invader who'd been sent to destroy his planet, was _crying_ in front of him. He grabbed at Dib's trench coat again, tugging him closer. "You want me to stay with you…?" he asked, still confused. Zim nodded, not looking at the human.

"Um, okay…" he agreed a bit nervously. He sat on the couch, keeping a decent amount of distance between them in spite of a somewhat desperate and embarrassing urge to hug him. Seeing the Irken so… small, really, was… alarming.

Zim looked at him, eyes wide. Then he turned away, his antennae drooping. "H- hey, what's wrong?" the human asked, looking confused. He reached out to him, trying to get his attention. Before Dib even really realized what was happening, the Irken had basically crawled into his lap, wrapping his arms around the other's waist.

He stared at the alien, alarmed for a moment until his face softened and he put his arm over Zim's shoulder, hugging him tightly. What happened to him that made the normally somewhat hostile alien so… sensitive? A couple of seconds passed before Dib reached over to grab the remote off the arm of the couch, suddenly remembering that white noise helped the alien sleep. "Is this okay?"

Zim nodded, his still shaking body relaxing a little. Dib sighed, intensely worried about his rival and somewhat desperate for a way to help. All he wanted was to find out what happened and fix it—whatever it was. It was terrifying to see him so broken. "Hey, um…" he hesitated, but slowly took Zim's hand, holding tightly. His other hand moved to the alien's antennae. Barely touching them, the human sort of pet Zim, trying to calm him.

The effects were nearly immediate. The Irken's body relaxed and his eyes half closed as he looked up Dib. "Is this okay?" the human asked quietly in an attempt to avoid doing something stupid while trying to be helpful. Zim nodded, resting his head against his chest, listening the rhythmic heart beat.

A stupid embarrassing blush crept across his face, but he smiled. "You're going to be okay. I promise. I'm not just going to leave you," he reassured him.

For a long moment there was no response from Zim. Dib was about to try to get some sleep himself, considering he'd have to wake up early to get home just to be able to get ready for school.

Then, suddenly, so softly that Dib almost missed it: "Thanks, Dib-thing."

Dib's eyes widened for a second before a bright smile replaced a look of shock. "Of course. This is clearly what rivals are for," he teased gently, holding Zim a little tighter. "Get some sleep, you look like a zombie."

Zim curled into him, distracted from his thoughts by the reassurance Dib was giving him.

It didn't take long for the two to fall asleep.

Author's Note (And Responses to Reviews!): Hello! So, I realize this took forever, but I promise it was because I didn't want to post it until I finished the next chapter (which I promise is 300% better than this one I'm so sorry to put you guys through this, I know it sucked! ~). So, that will be posted... as soon as I finish the next, next chapter. School's been kind of kicking my but between depression and all the band stuff I do, so... I dunno. In theory I take a break (write) after each section of work, but I'm not so good at that in practice. But! That aside- you guys are so amazing, thank you so much for all the attention! I'm really glad/hoping you like the story. Now, as for each of your reviews..

cara9001 (Chapter One): Prepare to say this many more times.

Invader Johnny (Chapter One): Yes, it did. But cost vs. reward is something to consider. Even if the cost is a lot at the moment, maybe something good may come of it? In regards to the Tallests regretting this and the ship for that matter, you'll have to stick around to find out!

Invader Johnny (Chapter Two): Yes, this is true. Not very healthy, though- which will be addressed and _not_ romanticized. Gaz is a bit OOC, yes. I have a really different and intricate head cannon for their relationship. She's not going to be necessarily _nice_ to him, but she does care about him. It will be discussed, I promise.

Invader Johnny (Chapter Three): Yeah, their dad is bad. Bad. He's loosely based off mine, so... yeah. There's gonna be some issues here.

Rock Rooster (Chapter Three): Thank you!3 It will be continuing until I finish. I don't plan on giving this up.

Thank you guys so much for your comments! I appreciate all of you and the time you took to give me feedback. 3 Have a great day!


	5. November 11th

November 11th  
(Thursday)

A very groggy human awoke with the rather reassuring weight of a very small alien on his chest. Dib rubbed at his eyes sleepily, letting out a soft yawn He glanced at the window by the door- it was still dark outside… probably ridiculously early in the morning. The human looked down at Zim, smiling a little. He seemed to be sleeping much more soundly- nothing like how he was when Dib found him.

Gently scooting Zim off his chest, Dib managed to escape, landing on the floor as softly as possible. He stood, watching the alien stir nervously. The blanket they'd been using was half falling off, half tied up around Zim. The alien seemed irritated, his arms reaching out for Dib. Panicking slightly, Dib slipped out of his trench coat, laying it over him. A rather tense moment passed as Zim seemed to be assessing the worth of the object in his slumber- deciding whether or not it was a suitable replacement. Finally, he curled into it, falling easily back to sleep.

A smile tugged at Dib's lips. He snuck to the door, opening it as softly as humanly possible and closing it behind him. Another second passed as the human listened for any sign that the other had heard, then sighed, relaxing a little.

The journey home took a while and Dib shivered a little as he walked, open to the elements without his coat. By the time he got to his house he was severely reluctant to leave it again. Before he even got the chance to get to his room, however, a storm of very angry footsteps rushed toward him and suddenly Gaz was in front of him, looking a little more exhausted than usual. "Where the hell were you?!" she demanded.

Dib's eyes widened for a second, "I- I didn't think-"

"I could tell you didn't think!" She snapped, "You _know_ how dad is when he doesn't know where we are, why did you just disappear like that?"

"I needed to see what was going on with Zim-"

"Of course you did. Can you think about anything else for two seconds?" Gaz growled, "Do you have any _idea_ how pissed dad was at me?"

"But, he shouldn't have been-"

"Yeah, I know he shouldn't have been home, but he was and he threw a huge fit about not knowing where you were," she told him bitterly. "I can't believe I tried to cover for you when you were just at Zim's! Why were you there all night?" Gaz crossed her arms. The wrong response would clearly only get him in more trouble.

Dib shrank a little, nibbling at his lip before the stinging pain it caused reminded him not to. "Uh, I was worried something was wrong since Zim was gone so long, so I went to check on him. He was down in the lab and he passed out for some reason- I still don't know what happened but I knew he'd been forgetting to eat even before he stopped coming to school because he was working really hard on an art project- I, um, and anyway I made him eat something and he wasn't talking and I just stood up and he freaked out so I… d- didn't leave…" he finally finished, looking down at the floor. "I didn't mean to get you yelled at I'm-"

"Yeah, yeah, you're sorry. Geez… I get yelled at and you get to hang out with your boyfriend? In what world is that fair?" Gaz muttered. Dib blushed slightly, still barely looking at her. Her anger seemed to have cooled greatly once he'd finished, even looking a little concerned for a moment. A long moment passed before she spoke again. "...And he's okay now?" she mumbled, almost as though she didn't want to get caught worrying about her stupid brother's stupid friend.

Smiling sheepishly, Dib nodded. "He'll be okay. He's not talking still, but… I… well, I thought I should go over there again today? I need to find out what happened if I'm going to help…"

Gaz raised an eyebrow. "You want to go over there again, right after I told you dad spent my entire evening telling me what a worthless daughter I was for not knowing the exact location of my brother at all times?"

Another long moment of silence passed. "...Well… I was planning on giving you a cover story in case he comes back this time…?"

"You are _so_ lucky I'm such a good liar," Gaz sighed, flopping onto the couch behind her. "What do you want me to tell him? That you're studying with your boyfriend again or that 'nerd club's' having some meeting about loser things?"

"Telling him I'm at Zim's should be fine," Dib mumbled, "And he's still not my boyfriend."

"Much to your dismay I'm sure," she smirked, reaching for her game system on the other side of the couch. "Go get ready for school- I'll do my best to cover for you if he comes home early again for however long you need to make sure your stupid alien will live."

"Thank you, Gaz, I really apprecia-"

"Shut up and get ready for school, you look like crap. And what happened to your stupid jacket you creep?"

"I… uh, let Zim use it. He didn't seem happy about me not being there, so…" he smiled sheepishly.  
"And… he's not your boyfriend. For sure."

Dib ran upstairs to get ready for school so Gaz wouldn't see the blush creeping up his face.

An hour or so later Dib was rushing down the stairs, still feeling uncomfortably exposed without his trench coat as he sprinted out the door. Gaz left twenty minutes ago and she only _barely_ got to school on time every day. Sparing a glance at his watch as he ran, he ended up slowing down to a walk, resigned to simply be late to school. He needed time to think, anyways. Or… try anyway.

Some kind of plan would have to be in place, but… Dib ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the clouds looming overhead. There was just too much. He couldn't sort all this out in his head. He needed to talk to someone- he needed to talk to _Zim_.

Vague panic started to mix up his thoughts further and he tugged at his hair. He didn't have time for this… taking deep breaths, Dib closed his eyes. If he could just get through school today… maybe Zim could talk to him. Maybe they could figure things out. Just get to school and then go to Zim's house.

This reassured the human enough that he was able to get to school mostly without incident, only about six minutes late. He opened the door to his classroom as quietly as possible, dashing to his seat before anyone noticed him. The teacher, though, could not be so easily fooled and raised an eyebrow at him. Dib's face turned a bright red and he looked down at his backpack as he dug through it for the things that he needed. When he looked up again, the teacher had gone back to his book.

Dib's day was… well, it was a bit of a mess.

His focus level was just abysmal. He was trying _so hard_ to work, but nothing was able to really catch his attention. For the first time in a few years, Dib was coasting through his day, looking only half alive. Even when he'd been so worried about Zim the last few days, he was at least able to be anxious- now he was just… surviving. His feet dragged and his usually at least vague excitement about everything buried under too many hundreds of half formed thoughts lying about his brain, neglected as though that could make them disappear.

Ever so slowly, sixth period crawled to an end. Dib sat on the edge of his seat, backpack already halfway on so that he could dash out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. It didn't take too long for this to happen, but the teacher, just to spite him (or, so it felt, anyway) made the class stay an extra two minutes to make sure they all understood the homework.

Finally, the human made his escape, running out the door before most of the class had even stood up.

He ran the entire way to Zim's house, just like yesterday, desperate to get all of this off his chest. Even if the Irken still couldn't talk… something had to be done about the situation. And this time Dib had thought to bring some extra clothes (which was part of the reason he had been running so late), as well as a blanket that the other had been stealing from him since his mother had gotten for his birthday several years ago. Dib had started hiding it in the upper shelf of his closet where Zim couldn't reach it and it angered the alien to no end.

The strangely bright house came into view as the human ran around a corner, panting heavily enough that he was forced to slow down. He walked the rest of the way, stopping at the door. For a second, he stood there, wondering what to do. In the end, he shook his head opening it quietly. As he closed the door, a green blur tackled his side, pinning him to the ground. Bright red eyes bore into Dib's, trying desperately to make anger burn through pure apathy. Suddenly, they widened and Zim seemed to shrink back.

Dib, whose head had slammed onto the ground, groaned. "Was that really necessary?" he winced, his hand pressed into the wounded spot..

Zim scrambled off the human, his antennae pinned to the back of his head, looking terrified. His rival sat up, glancing at him with a confused expression. "What's wrong? I'm not really mad. I probably should have knocked anyway…" he trailed off, the alien having now grabbed a notebook from beside the couch was scribbling rapidly. Rather suddenly, he shoved it toward Dib, flopping back onto the couch and curling up when the human had taken it, all but hiding

It read, in rather shaky handwriting, _I didn't think you were coming back._

Silence permeated their surroundings, until he eventually looked back up at the Irken. Zim wasn't looking at him, seeming very interested in a particular spot of the carpet. It was just then that Dib noticed his trenchcoat, draped over the side of the couch in such a way that to anyone else it may have looked discarded carelessly. He, however, noticed the sleeve hanging conspicuously close to the alien's hand. Dib knew for a fact that the alien rather liked the texture the jacket was made of. A slight smirk tugged at his lips as he stood, walking toward him. "You think I'd just leave my coat here with you? It's got my DNA all over it. For all I know you may have already cloned me, or done something equally villainous."

The little alien glanced up at him, what almost looked like a hint of a grateful smile on his face. He shook his head, his antennae twitched.  
"What have you been doing all day, then? Just laying there?"

Zim smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.  
"Then you haven't eaten again?"

Another sheepish smile, though he actually looked a bit ashamed now.

Dib sighed, frowning at the little alien. "What happened, Zim? Why were you passed out by the time I got you? Your PAK normally stores energy, right? So that means you didn't intake _any_ form of energy for the _entire_ time you were gone from school, plus the two or three days you spent working on that art project. That's the only way this all makes sense. You're not always great about taking care of yourself, but to not eat to the point of being in physical danger? What could do that to you? _Who_ could do that to _you_?"

The Irken stared up at the human, eyes wide, head tilted to the side. Dib averted his eyes, embarrassed. "I… s- sorry. It's alright if you can't talk about it yet. I'm just…" he took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. His voice took on a sharpness, not really wanted to say what suddenly spilled out of his mouth. "I'm worried about you, alright? I… I checked with Gaz and… she's says she can cover for me if I need to… I- I mean, I was hoping maybe… I could stay here with you to make sure you don't… ya know, starve to death or something."

Another long moment of silence passed, considerably more tense than before. Dib refused to look at the Irken, nibbling at his lip. He jumped as his coat was thrown at his feet, his eyes suddenly meeting Zim's. There was a playfulness in them he hadn't seen since before all this started and he smiled. He picked up his coat and pulled it on. "Have you drawn in the sketchbook I got you yet?"

Zim rolled his eyes, presumably at the human's inability to stay on one topic for more than twelve seconds. He nodded, though, picking it up off the floor next to him. By the other things surrounding it, Dib guessed that Gir had been bringing him things in an effort to make him feel better. Flipping through it didn't take long, but the alien didn't hand it to his rival yet, pointing to the human's backpack.

"My bag? What about it?" he asked, eager to see the alien's most recent work.

Motioning widely with his hands, Zim seemed to grow more urgent, quickly growing frustrated with his inability to communicate.

"...Are you wondering why it's so full?" Dib guessed. The Irken nodded vigorously. Laughing a little, Dib opened it, "Mostly it's just clothes, but… I did bring you this." He pulled out the rather large blanket that looked softer than was at all reasonable. Zim's eyes widened at the mere sight of it and reached out for it. A smirk tugged at his rivals lips as he tossed it to him, "I thought you'd like it- can I see the picture now?" Zim, already buried underneath the blanket, rather excitedly waved the human over, motioning for him to sit beside him. When he'd complied he was finally handed the book.

Dib was quite literally struck speechless. He spent a good five minutes staring at it, drinking in every detail. It was inked and coloured (with what the human swore had to be magical Irken marker-like things)- even shaded. The level of realism was actually alarming, almost as though it would start moving at any second. Which might have been a bit problematic, considering what it depicted.

It was, in fact, a picture of the two of them. Not… _really_ , though. An Irken version of Dib, antennae, PAK, strange sharp fingers and all, took up half of the page. But his eyes… instead of the dark, saturated amber they were in real life, they were a deep sapphire-like blue- just as piercing and intense as Zim's own. The two stood facing each other with very familiar smirks, a hand on their hips and an arm crossed by the other's. A victory pose. Across the top, written in the alien's curvy penmanship, were the words _Invaders Dib and Zim_.

Finally, Dib looked up at the alien, whose eyes flicked away from him to at least kind of maintain the appearance that he hadn't been staring. "This… Zim this is incredible. It… _wow_ , how long did this take you?" He merely shrugged, unable to really communicate an answer to this question, but couldn't hide how pleased he was, a slight flush coming to his cheeks.

The human bit his lip, considering something. Generally Zim didn't mind it when he asked about the meaning behind his art, but with how strangely he had been acting he had no idea how he might react. "...Is this… do you wish it was like this?"

Zim looked up at Dib, their eyes meeting for just a little bit too long. The Irken grabbed his notebook and scribbled something in it again, handing it to the human.

 _No. You balance Zim out. You made him think. Zim… doesn't know if this_ _would_ _could have happened if the Dib-thing had been born an Irken, too. No… Zim prefers the Dib-unit like this._

Dib couldn't help but smile as he read this, looking back up at the alien when he'd finished. "Come on- you're not just going to mope here all day. If something bad happened, fine. You can talk to me when you're ready, but in the meantime…" he leaned over, grabbing his backpack and pulling what looked like a fighting game. "I'm gonna beat you in every game I own. How's that sound?"

The Irken smirked at his rival as though the idea that this would even be a challenge were ridiculous. He pointed to his (well, actually Dib's- he had just decided to keep it at Zim's house because he never used it without him anyway) game system, inviting the human to set it up.

The two spent a large quantity of the afternoon beating each other up in Dib's game. As always, of course, they ended in a tie.


End file.
